WTOP's Mark Plotkin is not pleased that President Barack Obama neglected to invite Mayor Vince Gray to the State of the Union address tonight.
Talk about a non-story!
True, Gray has never been invited to the speech by the president—he attended last year as a guest of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (although, based on her less-than-pleased tone [...]
I guess I don't know why it matters that the president hasn't found a church home in D.C. But apparently it does. The Post reports:
Although many just wanted to spend a morning with the first family, others had hopes the Obamas would choose their church exclusively. The Obamas have not joined a Washington congregation.
Since becoming [...]
And Then There Were 12: For months, Harry Thomas Jr. claimed he was innocent of all the allegations against him, even after he agreed to repay the District $300,000 that the attorney general said he stole. And then all of a sudden, he admitted he did it all. In a guilty plea in federal court [...]
You're Not From Here, Are You?: Less than a year after the U.S. Census Bureau shocked everyone in the District with the news that the city's population had grown, by nearly 30,000 people, for the first time in 50 years, a new report came out today showing that no state (or "equivalent," as the District [...]
Via a pop-up ad on my laptop, I learned yesterday that the catchphrase for the Obama 2012 presidential campaign is still: "Are You In?"
I like Mark Plotkin's take on Mayor Vince Gray's remarks on statehood at the MLK memorial dedication on Sunday. City Paper alum Mike DeBonis asked Plotkin for his thoughts:
Plotkin had no qualms about Gray’s remarks. “They were terrific,” he said — particularly the call to “implore” President Barack Obama and Congress to act on behalf of [...]
Happy 19th wedding anniversary, Michelle and Barack Obama! Hope all is well. Truth be told, we have a minor bone to pick with you: Where's the love for D.C. businesses?
First, the first lady was spotted at an Alexandria Target store, skipping the Columbia Heights Target (which is only a short ride up from 1600 Pennsylvania [...]
The big story for political operatives and reporters yesterday was the back-and-forth between the White House and Republicans in Congress over when, exactly, President Barack Obama would head up to the Capitol to make a speech about getting the economy back on track that the Republicans in Congress would then ignore.
Obama had proposed delivering the [...]
You Can Dance If You Want To: Future scholars of social movements may well look back on May 2011 as the month it became safe to dance. Because up to now, the U.S. Park Police arrests of dancers at the Jefferson Memorial was merely a funny story; all of a sudden, it's a political protest. [...]
Outfoxed: When President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama went to Shiloh Baptist Church for Easter services, it should have been a boon for the Shaw house of worship—publicity is always nice, after all, and a presidential visit brings a lot of good publicity. And also, apparently, a lot of hate mail. After the [...]
In parts of Montgomery County, it's easy to find residents who think—no, know—they live in the center of the world. These days, if any of them are reading the Washington Examiner, they may well find some evidence.
That's because the Examiner has now assigned two Maryland and Montgomery County reporters, Hayley Peterson and Brian Hughes, to [...]
Arbeit Macht High: Probably just about every day, some dopey American college student visiting Amsterdam stumbles into the Anne Frank House tripping their face off on mushrooms, only to discover that nothing harshes a buzz like genocide. (Years ago, this happened to some friends of ours, and if they're reading, we hope they're still ashamed.) [...]
But Does He Like Us, Like Us?: At one point during the mayoral primary, Vince Gray aides e-mailed around a photo of their man shaking hands with President Obama during a chance encounter at a Washington Mystics game. They can now update that with a new shot; Gray, the District's next mayor, joined Obama for [...]
Cash Rules Everything Around Me: The lesson the White House appears to have learned from this month's elections is that voters think people here make too much money. There's not a much better explanation for President Obama's decision to freeze pay for federal workers, since the difference it'll make in the deficit is miniscule. But [...]
Actor Kal Penn (Kalpen Modi) was mugged the last time he was in the District. Now he's returning—and it turns out his robber was arrested months ago, but is still in judicial limbo.
Penn, who was working for the Obama administration as a staffer until he quit in April to film another Harold and Kumar [...]
